Method and means for ventilating theaters and distributing sound



Sept. 15, 1931. R. E. VENDERBUSH 1,323,479

METHOD AND MEANS FOR VENTILATING THEATERS AND DISTRIBUTING SOUND FiledAg. 5. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l L I L 3 & R

1 H" I II l 1 I in I W 1 H I II I] Illa II 3 V M W INVENTOR E Ray L.Z/"enderivsh.

BY J

xTTORNEY Sept. 15, 1931. R. E. VENDERBUSH 3,3

METHOD AND MEANS FOR VENTILATING THEATERS AND DISTRIBUTING SOUND FiledAug. 5. 1929 2 SbQBtQ-S' 1186t 2 INVENTOR 2$}! E Vnderbvsh HTQRNEY vPatented Sept. 15, 1931 1,823,479

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RAY E. VENDERBUSH, or DETROIT, MICHIGANHarmon AND. mmuvs r012. VENTILA'IING 'rnnarnns AND msmrnurruc soon-pApplication filed August 5, 1929. Serial no. 383,592.

This invention. relates to methods and parently emanate from said meansfor ven'tilating theaters and distributformed with minute perforations ia ing sound and has a: special application to loud speaker v of anysuitable, constructieq theaters in which motion pictures are disis.arranged at the smallend of a sound played with a synchronized soundaccom- 6, connected with the, back of said-screen 55 paniment.progressively reducedv in cross sectionas An object of the invention isto discharge extends, to said speaker.

a, current, of air from a region adjacent to The described arrangementof screen a th stageDf a theater auditorium to the rear loud spealrer isat present widelyused in con: of suchjauditorium, in such volume and d1-nect o n w1thsynchromzed-sound-producing (if) rection as to appreciablyassist transmission and plcture d splaying apparatus andamor to. theaudience, of sounds emanating from detailed explanation of same wouldhence the stage. superfluous. The sound waves leaving sai Morespecifically, the invention seeks to screen are primarily directedtoward the rear.

ass st n carryingsound waves from a motion of the theater, but with suchlateral picture screen hrough which said waves gence as to reach theside sections and central are thrown; by a suitable loud speaker or thesection in substantially the same volume, like) to allparts of a theateror auditorium The present invention proposes to.

without undue distortion or diminution charge a considerable current, ofat so th r- 1 velocity in substantially the direction These and variousother objects the invent travel of said sound waves, thereby eq nit ation attains by the construction hereinafter acting to, a quiteappreciable. extent the. described and illustrated in the accompanydency of said waves to diminish in force i drawing wher n: a i y as th ync us there n iig. 1 is a perspective interior view of a vided, adjacentto. the stage and prefera 7 motion picture theater, showing a, referredcentrally thereabove, an air outlet location for the opening into said teater of which preferably is positioned just in fronit a ventilationsystem. of thecentral portion of the. arch 2. st} Fig. 2' is adiagrammatic longitudinal secfitting may have any desired 30 tionalelevation of said theater, showing a may conveniently have the elon atedrectan provision for delivering air in a certain adgularform, bestillustratedin l. Leadvantageous relation to the screen on which ing toanddischarging fromsaid ting is jan the pictures are thrown. air duct 8,through which a large volume Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view ofthe of air maybe. impelled at low i 35 frame through which air entersthe theater, blower 9,. Thela'tter may have desire 35 disclosingair-directing louvers carried location and may be conveniently-situatedthereby. uponthe theater roof 1 0,. i l i Fig. 4 is a vertical sectionalview of the Provision is made for the venting of air same at he r r f heh t r y xtei d i g to Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a fragmoreducts 11 from the ceilingof thetheater mentary portion of the screenshowing its through the roof thereof. 4 V M l perforated construction.In Fig. 2. the lines 12indicate the expand; Fig. 6 is a fragmentaryfront view of the ing path of the rearwardly traveling. same. waves, andthe intersection of. p th hy .5 In these views, the reference character1 the ventilating flow. of air is. ind cated. by

designates the stage of a theater and 2 the arrows. usual prosceniumarch, framing the front of It has been found that in installing a verthe stage. Upon (or above) said stage, and tillating system in thedescribed to a preferably in a central location is a motion screen andsound apparatus that the f 0 picture screen 3. To permit sounds toapwaves are more fully distributed throughout tion effects arematerially lessened. The imcurrent may largely proved sound distributionis, it is believed, largely due to the effect of the above-describedventilation system in increasing the density of that portion of the airin the theater through which the sound waves travel to the audience.

In thus utilizing a ventilating current of air to augment travel ofsound waves, it is desirable to locate the air outletfittingsuflicie-ntly remote from the seats that the air lose its initialvelocity before reaching the audience, whereby the existence of saidcurrent will not be unpleasantly perceptible. Also it is desirable tosecure, so far as is practicable, a coincidence of direction betweensaid air current and the advancing sound waves. The location of thedischargefitting 7 close adjacent to the central top portion of the arch2 peculiarly perits the desired expansion of the air current prior toits encountering the audience and a low angularity of direction betweensaid current and the sound waves. In Fig. 2, it best appears how thefitting 7 is inclined to impart the desired direction of travel to theair current.

" As a further provision for controlling the direction and expansion ofthe air current to meet"various conditions, sets of relativelytrans-verse pivotal louvers 13 and 14: may be mounted in the fitting '7,extending respectively horizontally across the opening thereof Saidlouvers may aud'tor um,

and parallel tothe side edges of said opening. be -set at suchdifferential angles as will secure most effective augmentation ofthesound waves by the discharging air.

*fWhile-a' single air outlet fitting adjacent has been illustrated, itis to be understood that a plurality of such fittings inight; in somecases be employed and that the invention is susceptible of various othermodifications.

"What I claim is:

" 1'. The method of utilizing a ventilating current of air toimprovesound distribution, I

consisting in directing sound waves from a stage toward the rear of atheater, and discharging a ventilating current of air from a regionadjacent to the stage and overlying the path of the sound waves in arearward direction and at a downward inclination and in such volumeasto' materially increase the density of the air waves travel to. suchair .at

theater. j

21A method of employing a ventilating current of air to improve sounddistribution, consisting in generating sound waves adjacent to. one endof an auditorium and directing such waves toward the other end of thethe audience, and venting the rear upper portion of the so dischargedbeing adequate to materially increase the density of the air body in thelower portion of the auditorium through which body said sound waves aretransmitted to the audience. 7

3. The combination with a theater stage and proscenium arch, of a meansfor directing sound waves from said stage toward the rear of thetheater, means for conducting air into the theater and discharging it ata point above the path of said waves and adjacent to the top of saidarch air rearwardly at a downward inclination in such volume as 'to'materially increase the density of the air through which said soundwaves are conveyed to the audience, and

means for discharging said air at the rear of the theater. I V

4. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination withmeans within an auditorium and adjacent to one end thereof for directingsound waves toward the other end of said auditorium, means forcontinuously introducing ventilating air into the auditorium through theceiling thereofat a point adjacent to the source'of said waves, saidmeans providing for directing such current convergently to the path ofsaid waves in a volume adequate to materially increase the density ofthe air body through which said waves are conveyedto the audience, andmeans for venting such air from the upper portion of said auditorium atthe end thereof toward which said waves are directed. In testimonywhereof I sign this'specification.

RAY E. VENDERBUSH.

through which said sound discharging a ventilating curand for directingsuch

